Editing Vim (text editor) (section)

== Customization ==
Vim is highly customizable and extensible, making it an attractive tool for users who demand a large amount of control and flexibility over their text editing environment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3037629/why-vim-an-80s-text-editor-is-still-the-ui-of-choice-for-power-users|website=FastCompany|last=Melendez|first=Steven|title=Why Vim, An '80s Text Editor, Is Still The UI Of Choice For Power Users|date=28 October 2014|access-date=5 May 2019|archive-date=6 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506013107/https://www.fastcompany.com/3037629/why-vim-an-80s-text-editor-is-still-the-ui-of-choice-for-power-users|url-status=live}}</ref> Text input is facilitated by a variety of features designed to increase keyboard efficiency. Users can execute complex commands with "key bindings," which can be customized and extended. The "recording" feature allows for the creation of [[macro (computer science)#Keyboard and mouse macros|macros]] to automate sequences of keystrokes and call internal or user-defined functions and mappings. Abbreviations, similar to macros and key mappings, facilitate the expansion of short strings of text into longer ones and can also be used to correct mistakes. Vim also features an "easy" mode for users looking for a simpler text editing solution.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tips: Making Vim easy |url=https://www.linux.com/news/tips-making-vim-easy |website=Linux.com |access-date=6 May 2019 |date=2007-04-10 |archive-date=6 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506013124/https://www.linux.com/news/tips-making-vim-easy |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are many [[plug-in (computing)|plugins]] available that extend or add new functionality to Vim. These plugins are usually written in Vim's internal scripting language, vimscript (also known as VimL),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vimhelp.org/usr_41.txt.html#vim-script-intro|title=Vim documentation: usr_41|website=vimhelp.org|access-date=13 January 2019|archive-date=13 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113232237/https://vimhelp.org/usr_41.txt.html#vim-script-intro|url-status=live}}</ref> but can be written in other languages as well.

There are projects bundling together complex scripts and customizations and aimed at turning Vim into a tool for a specific task or adding a major flavour to its behaviour. Examples include Cream, which makes Vim behave like a click-and-type editor, or VimOutliner, which provides a comfortable [[outliner]] for users of Unix-like systems.